{"id":47307,"date":"2018-09-28T12:26:49","date_gmt":"2018-09-28T15:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=47307"},"modified":"2023-03-29T09:11:31","modified_gmt":"2023-03-29T12:11:31","slug":"gubernatorial-candidates-in-alemao-and-mare-favelas-should-be-treated-no-differently","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=47307","title":{"rendered":"Gubernatorial Candidates in Alem\u00e3o and Mar\u00e9: ‘Favelas Should Be Treated No Differently’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Vila Ol\u00edmpica Carlos Castilho<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Complexo do Alem\u00e3o<\/a> was quite empty as the\u00a0Meeting Between Favelas and Gubernatorial Candidates in Rio,<\/a>\u00a0organized by the Favelas News Agency<\/a> (ANF), began on Saturday, September 15. The low turnout was due to a\u00a0police operation<\/a> in the favelas of\u00a0Jacarezinho<\/a>, Complexo do Alem\u00e3o, and\u00a0Complexo da Mar\u00e9<\/a> that morning. “People who are leaving for work now\u2014be careful. The army is all over Itarar\u00e9,” relayed an audio message in a WhatsApp group, alluding to Estrada de Itarar\u00e9, the road bordering Complexo do Alem\u00e3o where the recreation center is located. “I’m not even leaving the house because it’s brutal. A lot of shooting,” reported a resident who said she would otherwise have attended the event. The organization decided not to postpone the event because it believed that the venue\u2014located between the favela and the “asphalt” [formal urban area]\u2014was safe and that the operation had already ended.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Audience at the debate in Alem\u00e3o. Photo: Charlote Dafol \/ ANF<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was not just the audience that was missing. Of the eight confirmed candidates, only four appeared<\/a>: Dayse Oliveira (United Socialist Workers’ Party<\/a>), Marcelo Trindade (New Party<\/a>), Pedro Fernandes (Democratic Labor Party<\/a>), and Tarc\u00edsio Motta (Socialism and Liberty Party<\/a>). Andr\u00e9 Monteiro (Brazilian Labor Renewal Party),\u00a0\u00cdndio da Costa (Social Democratic Party<\/a>), Luiz Eug\u00eanio Honorato (Workers’ Cause Party<\/a>), and M\u00e1rcia Tiburi (Workers’ Party<\/a>) had confirmed their presence but did not show up. The first two did not provide a reason for their absence. Honorato said his car broke down and Tiburi said she got stuck at another engagement.<\/p>\n

Among those who did not confirm their presence, Anthony Garotinho (Progressive Republican Party) said that he had canceled his plans because he had a virus; Eduardo Paes (Democrats<\/a>) mentioned a scheduling conflict, but supposedly met<\/a> with leaders in Alem\u00e3o behind closed doors the following day; Wilson Witzel (Social Christian Party<\/a>) questioned the Favela News Agency about the security of the venue and later cited a scheduling conflict; and Rom\u00e1rio Faria (Podemos)\u2014the famous World Cup soccer player and the only candidate born in a favela\u2014did not respond to the invitation.<\/p>\n

Three days later, with a full audience this time, there was another debate between gubernatorial candidates in a favela: the\u00a0Mar\u00e9 Arts Center<\/a>\u00a0had a full house for the Debate with Candidates in Mar\u00e9<\/a>, promoted by the ‘No More Violence, Another Mar\u00e9 is Possible’ Forum<\/a>. In the audience were dozens of young people\u2014many of whom will vote for the first time\u2014from community college exam preparatory courses. Unlike the audience, however, the stage was not full. While there was no police operation in progress, again, only four candidates appeared<\/a>: Dayse Oliveira (United Socialist Workers’ Party), Ivanete Silva (candidate for co-governor, Socialism and Liberty Party), Luiz Eug\u00eanio Honorato (Workers’ Cause Party), and M\u00e1rcia Tiburi (Workers’ Party). The other candidates did not accept the invitation.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Audience at the debate in Mar\u00e9. Photo: Douglas Lopes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The organization that organized the debate in\u00a0Complexo da Mar\u00e9<\/a> highlighted that three of the four candidates present being women is a fact representative of the\u00a0political moment in which we are living<\/a>: “I am the only black female candidate,” said Dayse Oliveira, noting that Silva\u2014also a black woman\u2014is officially a candidate for vice-governor.<\/p>\n

Participants highlighted not only the representativeness of the candidates who were present but also their willingness to go to the favela [where the event was being held]. “Here we have four candidates who respect favelas, who put this [event] on their agenda, who have come here,” emphasized Andr\u00e9 Fernandes, coordinator of the Favela News Agency, at the debate in Alem\u00e3o. Honorato said that “the Workers’ Cause Party is the party of the masses, the workers. Our [sense of] identity is greater with the favela.” Silva said that favela spaces “should be treated no differently” relative to the rest of the state: “Favelas are not ‘islands.’\u00a0Public policy should be made for everyone. For us, this is a space that belongs to all of us.” Finally, Oliveira highlighted her connection to Mar\u00e9: “I launched my candidacy [for governor] here in Mar\u00e9 in 2014… I am from S\u00e3o Gon\u00e7alo<\/a>, but the periphery is the periphery anywhere.” In Alem\u00e3o, she also said: “The periphery lacks so much because it is where the workers live.”<\/p>\n

The key issues that arose at both debates were public security and its intersections with education and health. All of the candidates present at the debate in Mar\u00e9 positioned themselves against the\u00a0federal military intervention<\/a> underway in Rio de Janeiro and advocated for reforms to the Military Police. “There is a [political] project to exterminate the undesirables, the poor black population, those who are left out of the process of production and consumption,” asserted Tiburi. “It is necessary to guarantee security as a right<\/em> and also guarantee the security of rights\u2014<\/em>the right to have rights.”<\/p>\n

Along these lines, Silva, Oliveira, and Tiburi argued that it is necessary to integrate police forces, which currently do not coordinate with one another. Silva said that it is necessary to invest in planning and intelligence<\/a>\u00a0activities to safeguard “people’s lives,” echoing the words of her running mate Tarc\u00edsio Motta in the debate three days prior: “It is necessary to address organized crime with intelligence and information, not confrontation. Public security is the guarantee of life, not the presumption of death.”<\/p>\n

Similarly, Marcelo Trindade had said that “confrontation is instinctive, and what we need is intelligence, not instinct” through planning and goal-setting. He added that we are “doing something ineffective and people are dying every day.” Oliveira proposed that police chiefs should be elected [to their positions] and that the police forces should be demilitarized. Pedro Fernandes proposed to do away with Pacifying Police Units (UPPs)\u2014which according to him are “misguided, expensive, and inefficient”\u2014and to redistribute resources to strengthen battalions. In Alem\u00e3o, Oliveira and Fernandes agreed that violence can be combatted with opportunities and jobs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Pedro Fernandes responds to a question at the Carlos Castilho sports complex, with Alem\u00e3o in the background. Photo: Charlote Dafol \/ ANF<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In both debates, participants recognized that the intersection of education and public security sadly materializes in the cancellation of school days due to violence and police operations. In light of this, Trindade proposed “safety corridors” to guarantee access to schools even in these situations, with the cooperation of teachers. “We’re not able to stop speaking about education when we talk about infrastructure, sports, and leisure. This is good. But infrastructure is useless without teachers.”<\/p>\n

Also with regard to education, at the debate in Mar\u00e9, Tiburi proposed the implementation of a program called Second Chance, providing scholarships so that young people with low attendance records remain in school. At the debate in Alem\u00e3o, Fernandes proposed paid internship programs and full-day education with athletic, cultural, and pre-professional activities as alternatives for adolescents to develop vocational skills. Oliveira proposed higher quality public education, both with regard to textbooks (which should be edited by public rather than for-profit publishers) and teacher preparation (in her view, teachers should return to university to be reaccredited every five years).<\/p>\n

Also on the intersection of education and public security, candidates were asked about their proposals for prevention, both in terms of health and safety, in questions raised by young people and community journalists from Mar\u00e9. Beyond missed classes, they cited the case of a young man who died of tuberculosis in the community and the absence of nurses in public schools, among other instances. “We are all sick. We are sick because of the open sewage, because of the water that doesn’t arrive at our houses. Violence interferes with our health,” said Silva. For Trindade, the universalization of sanitation can only be achieved with the controversial privatization of the State Water and Sewerage Utility<\/a> (CEDAE).<\/p>\n

Tiburi proposed a program inspired by the Mais M\u00e9dicos (“More Doctors”) program<\/a>\u00a0at the state level, as well as an increase of primary care physicians. For Oliveira, it is necessary to do away with\u00a0Social Healthcare Organizations<\/a>\u00a0(OSS) that provide public services but are managed by the private sector. According to her, they propagate a for-profit vision of healthcare financed by public funds. Furthermore, she called for an end to the practice of outsourcing healthcare professionals. “Healthcare professionals need to know the community. There can’t be this level of turnover.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
From left to right: Marcelo Trindade (New Party), Dayse Oliveira (United Socialist Workers’ Party), Pedro Fernandes (Democratic Labor Party), and Tarc\u00edsio Motta (Socialism and Liberty Party)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another issue that came up was violence against women\u2014both domestic violence and police abuse, with invasive searches conducted by male police officers and the invasion of homes when women are sparsely dressed, having thought themselves to be in the privacy of their own homes. “The Maria da Penha Law [to combat domestic violence] does not exist\u2014neither within the favela nor outside of it,” said one spectator. In response, Oliveira said that beyond protecting women from aggression, it is necessary to “free women from domestic slavery,” constructing community preschools, restaurants, and laundromats, as well as shelters to welcome women who feel threatened.<\/p>\n

With regard to housing, in the face of difficulties communicated by residents who have faced eviction and depend on public rent assistance, Motta proposed the repossession of abandoned buildings in\u00a0downtown Rio<\/a> and the creation of a state housing fund to provide rent assistance, to solidify housing as a right: “Housing is a key point for any administration that prioritizes fighting inequality and reducing the cost of living.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Laerte Breno, literature student and resident of Mar\u00e9, asked the question about misplaced priorities. Photo: Jacqueline Fernandes \/ Voz das Comunidades<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Finally, a student from Mar\u00e9 asked a question about public authorities’\u00a0misplaced priorities<\/a> in favelas\u2014such as a bicycle path that is simply painted on the street,<\/a>\u00a0the announcement of an ecological park in Mar\u00e9<\/a>, and the proposal to bulletproof schools<\/a>\u2014without the participation of residents in these decisions. In response, Oliveira proposed to form popular councils in these territories to discuss funding allocations and priority areas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas\u00a0 Vila Ol\u00edmpica Carlos Castilho\u00a0in\u00a0Complexo do Alem\u00e3o was quite empty as the\u00a0Meeting Between Favelas and Gubernatorial Candidates in Rio,\u00a0organized by the Favelas News Agency (ANF), began on Saturday, September 15. The low […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":157,"featured_media":47309,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1668,1288,1333,335],"tags":[371,280,32,2239,272,397,595,428,892,2616,11,107,26,25,499,455,512,2657,673,2219,15,152,594,2542,2220,2817,917,374,2222,2221,2217,2216,2040,301,809,1189,1019,1798,535,120,443,373,135,207,375,2720,2076],"writer":[2247],"translator":[2498],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-47307","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-participationwatch","8":"category-highlight","9":"category-event-reports","10":"category-policies","11":"tag-cedae","12":"tag-complexo-da-mare","13":"tag-complexo-do-alemao","14":"tag-dem","15":"tag-mayor-eduardo-paes","16":"tag-education","17":"tag-elections","18":"tag-employment","19":"tag-family-health-clinic","20":"tag-favela-vs-asphalt","21":"tag-forced-evictions","22":"tag-health","23":"tag-housing-rights","24":"tag-human-rights","25":"tag-jacarezinho","26":"tag-lei-maria-da-penha","27":"tag-leisure","28":"tag-military-intervention","29":"tag-misplaced-public-priorities","30":"tag-novo","31":"tag-pacifying-police-unit","32":"tag-participation","33":"tag-participatory-democracy","34":"tag-participatory-planning","35":"tag-pco","36":"tag-pdt","37":"tag-police-reform","38":"tag-politics","39":"tag-prb","40":"tag-psd","41":"tag-psol","42":"tag-pstu","43":"tag-pt","44":"tag-public-policy","45":"tag-public-security","46":"tag-racism","47":"tag-right-to-education","48":"tag-rio-state","49":"tag-sanitation","50":"tag-sao-goncalo","51":"tag-security","52":"tag-sewerage","53":"tag-social-rent","54":"tag-sports","55":"tag-state-government","56":"tag-tarcisio-motta","57":"tag-violence-against-women","58":"writer-luisa-fenizola","59":"translator-sharonya-vadakattu"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/157"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/47309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47307"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=47307"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=47307"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=47307"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=47307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}